Pirates Fan Who Fell 21-Feet Over Outfield Wall & Landed Head-First Has Been Identified As Former College Football Player, Remains In Critical Condition
The Pittsburgh Pirates fan in critical condition who fell over the 21-foot Clemente Wall at PNC Park on Wednesday night has been identified as 20-year-old Kavan Markwood.
Per Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com, a South Allegheny School District staff member confirmed that Kavan Markwood is the fan who had the horrific fall during the bottom of the seventh inning of last night’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
Markwood graduated from South Allegheny High School in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 2022 and went on to play college football at Walsh University and Wheeling University, per Gorman.
School district spokeswoman Laura Thomson gave the following statement to TribLive.com:
“Everyone at South Allegheny would say he is a hardworking, highly resilient young man. He’s a fighter. He’s going to need that resiliency now. But he has it. He’s touched a lot of lives at South Allegheny. We’re a small community. He’s a household name here. Everyone knows him…He has the prayers and the support of the South Allegheny community.”
Several frightening videos of Markwood’s fall surfaced on social media. The Pittsburgh Public Safety X/Twitter account announced on Thursday morning that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature,” and that Markwood is still in critical condition.
Markwood’s fall happened after Pittsburgh Pirates fan favorite Andrew McCutchen hit a double that plated the game-tying and winning runs. Umpires were immediately noted of what happened, and paramedics moved quickly to help Markwood.
The Pittsburgh Pirates went on to win the game 4-3, but the Cubs took the series by winning Thursday’s rubber match 8-3. Pittsburgh will begin a three-game home set against the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Kavan Markwood, and we hope he makes a safe and speedy recovery. We’ll also be sure to provide an update on his condition when it becomes available.
Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Derek Shelton: “Keep Him In Your Prayers”
After Wednesday’s game, an emotional Pirates manager Derek Shelton offered his best wishes to Markwood and asked everyone to pray for him, per MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf:
“I want to offer thoughts and prayers with the incident that happened earlier in the game and thank both our medical staff, the Cubs’ medical staff, EMS, everybody that got to the gentleman, and just ask everybody to keep him in your prayers.”
